Category Archives: Refugees

‘First you cry, then get used to it’: Ukraine villagers find a kind of refuge in Mykolaiv

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Ukraine is holding out in the heavily bombarded port city and even as thousands of people try to leave, others are arriving

After an airstrike flattened the school behind his house and artillery shells ripped apart a circle of neighbouring homes, Dmitry Yakhshyboyev went out to look for petrol.

His family, from seven-month-old son to parents in their 70s, had been cowering in their basement without heating, electricity or running water for two days, as Russian forces assaulted their village.

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Thousands of refugees expected in UK next week under Homes for Ukraine scheme

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Government says 5,500 visas granted and 20,000 applications submitted

Thousands of Ukrainians are expected to arrive in the UK next week following criticisms of the slow progress of government schemes.

The refugees minister, Richard Harrington, told a parliamentary committee that sponsors who had identified someone who wished to come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme would be able to apply from 18 March.

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UK refugee scheme could lead to exploitation of Ukrainians, say experts

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Promise of ‘light touch’ checks prompts fears traffickers could see arrival of mostly women and children as opportunity

More than 120,000 Britons have expressed interest in hosting Ukrainian refugees, amid concerns that the new government scheme could lead to exploitation of vulnerable women and children.

The figure was released by the government on Tuesday evening, little more than 24 hours after Homes for Ukraine programme was launched to take in those fleeing Russia’s invasion, most of whom are women and children.

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Refugee website crashes as 89,000 Britons rush to take in Ukrainians

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About 10,000 people an hour signing up to offer homes to war-hit families and individuals, says minister

Almost 89,000 people have offered homes to Ukrainian refugees in the first hours of a government scheme that allows families and individuals to bring them to the UK.

The website for registering interest in the scheme crashed for a short while because of the numbers offering homes. By 9am on Tuesday, 88,712 had joined the scheme. The Foreign Office minister, James Cleverly, said “10,000 people every hour” were signing up.

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‘We had no choice’: over 8,000 Russians seek US refuge in six-month period

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The increase in asylum-seekers is 35 times the number who crossed the border in Mexico during the same time period last year

Maksim Derzhko calls it one of the most terrifying experiences of his life. A longtime opponent of Vladimir Putin, he flew from Vladivostok to the Mexican border city of Tijuana with his 14-year-old daughter and was in a car with seven other Russians. All that separated them from claiming asylum in the United States was a US officer standing in traffic as vehicles inched toward inspection booths.

The emotions are “hard to put into words,” he says. “It’s fear. The unknown. It’s really hard. We had no choice.”

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Labour calls UK’s homes for Ukraine plan a ‘DIY asylum scheme’

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Criticism follows announcement that UK householders will have to name refugees they wish to sponsor

Michael Gove’s plan to permit UK householders to shelter Ukrainians seeking to escape the Russian war machine has been compared to a “DIY asylum scheme” after it was announced that people would have to name the refugees they wish to sponsor.

The communities secretary was criticised after setting out details of the homes for Ukraine scheme in the Commons on Monday, after complaints about the government’s slow response to the worst humanitarian disaster in Europe for decades.

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Dublin welcomes dazed Ukrainian arrivals with food, buggies and toys

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An airport building is turned into one-stop shop for life essentials and legal support

“Thank you very much Ireland,” said Kate Kolva, waving a little blue and yellow flag in the arrivals hall at Dublin Airport.

As she waited to collect her best friend’s mother, Ukrainians with no family connections with the country were all too easy to identify.

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Stranded and desperate, Ukrainian refugees wait for the Home Office reply. But it never comes

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Evacuees queue for hours but still can’t get past bureaucratic chaos – and flights to Britain leave with empty seats

Inside the cavernous confines of the airport in Iași, Romania, volunteers were offering food, drink and translation services to the continuous influx of Ukrainians fleeing war.

Those arriving knew that bagging a place on a flight required patience, tenacity and no little luck. Routes to Italy, Austria, Poland and Ireland were all fully booked. Yet one destination stood out.

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Scotland and Wales want to act as Ukrainian refugee ‘super sponsors’

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Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford tell UK government they want to ‘maximise’ their contributions

Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford have said Scotland and Wales are willing to become “super sponsors” for Ukrainian refugees.

The UK government is to launch a scheme where individuals and organisations can sponsor refugees to come into the country, but the Scottish and Welsh first ministers told Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary, they wanted to “maximise” their contribution and act as “super sponsors”.

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UK visa red tape distracting fighters on frontline, says Ukraine’s former PM

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Volodymyr Groysman suggests worry over safety of families who have fled could disrupt those left behind to fight

Red tape holding up refugees from reaching the UK could be distracting husbands and fathers left behind to fight Russian forces as they worry about the safety of their families who have fled, a former prime minister of Ukraine has said.

Volodymyr Groysman was Ukraine’s premier between 2016 and 2019, and has been warning about the threat from the Kremlin for many years.

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At least 19 migrants missing after boat capsizes off coast of Libya

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Missing are presumed dead after three migrants rescued and one body retrieved, Libyan coast guard says

A boat carrying about two dozen migrants capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Saturday, with at least 19 people missing and presumed dead, authorities said.

Libya’s coastguard said that a group of 23 migrants – Egyptians and Syrians – set off from the eastern city of Tobruk earlier in the day. Three migrants were rescued and taken to hospital. Only one body was retrieved and search efforts were continuing, the agency said.

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‘We must welcome them’: how Europe is helping Ukrainian refugees

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Unlike the UK, EU countries have offered open sanctuary to the millions fleeing Russia’s attack in biggest refugee crisis since second world war

Over the past few days, images of desperate Ukrainian families being turned away by officials have thrown the UK’s response to what has been termed the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war into stark contrast with its European neighbours.

So far the UK has refused to match the EU’s decision to offer Ukrainians open sanctuary, instead operating a limited family reunification and humanitarian sponsorship system.

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UK politics live: Boris Johnson says government will keep tightening ‘economic vice around Putin regime’

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Latest updates: prime minister suggests further sanctions to come in future

Chelsea FC will still be allowed to play matches despite its owner, Roman Abramovich, being sanctioned, the government says. It explains:

Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea. This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.

There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.

Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.

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‘No one really believed it would happen’: first Jewish Ukrainian refugees arrive in Israel

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Influx of 100,000 refugees from the war zone expected as members of the diaspora exercise the country’s law of return

A red carpet, applause and dozens of blue and white flags were waiting for the first Jewish Ukrainian refugees to arrive in Israel as part of a huge rescue operation triggered by Moscow’s invasion.

About 400 people on four flights from Poland, Moldova and Romania landed in Tel Aviv on Sunday, among them 100 children who had been living in a Jewish orphanage in the northern city of Zhytomyr. Most of the new arrivals were visibly relieved to have reached safety; as is tradition, several people touched and kissed the ground after disembarking.

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UK ministers considering climbdown on Ukraine visa restrictions

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Change would mean Ukrainians with temporary visas would be able to bring their relatives to Britain

Ministers are considering a climbdown to allow Ukrainians with temporary visas to bring relatives to the UK after Ukraine’s ambassador called for an easing of restrictions.

Amid scenes of chaos and despair at a visa application centre in Poland, government insiders said Ukrainians in the UK on work and student visas might also be allowed to bring their relatives to the UK.

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Priti Patel under fire over chaotic Ukrainian refugee policy

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Home Office sources contradict earlier government denials that third way to enter Britain may be introduced

Priti Patel has been accused of presiding over chaos after Ukrainian refugees arriving in Calais were greeted by posters telling them to get their UK visas in Paris or Brussels, while her pledge to expand the visa scheme was contradicted by Downing Street.

On a day of confusion and uncertainty for Ukrainian refugees making the 1,400-mile journey to Britain, the home secretary admitted that she has not yet set up a visa application centre (VAC) near the French port of Calais where refugees have gathered.

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Experts raise doubts over plan for Royal Navy to control Channel crossings

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Exclusive: Critical defence select committee report to come amid growing Tory unease over No 10’s plan

The credibility of the government’s plan to put the Royal Navy in charge of coordinating efforts to control small boats in the Channel is expected to be questioned by an influential parliamentary committee.

A report by the defence select committee, to be delivered shortly, will raise doubts over whether plans to put the Royal Navy in charge have been rigorously tested.

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‘They are frozen’: Poland praised for generous welcome to 1m Ukrainians

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Volunteers leading response to growing number of people fleeing Russian invasion, as country announces £1.3bn fund for refugees

More than 1 million people have crossed from Ukraine into Poland since the Russian invasion began on 24 February, the Polish border guard has said.

Poland, which shares a 310-mile border with Ukraine, has taken in the majority of the 1.7 million people who have left their homes since the war began, with aid efforts largely operated by volunteers, as well as NGOs and municipalities.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy vows revenge on Russian forces after fleeing family killed in shelling of Irpin

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Attack on civilians in town on the outskirts of Kyiv comes as vast numbers of Ukrainian civilians attempt to flee cities under bombardment

Volodymr Zelenskiy has vowed to punish “every bastard’” who committed atrocities during the invasion of Ukraine amid outrage at Russia’s shelling of civilians as they tried to flee a town on the outskirts of Kyiv, killing a young family.

The president of Ukraine said in a video address on Sunday night: “They were just trying to get out of town. To escape. The whole family. How many such families have died in Ukraine. We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will punish everyone who committed atrocities in this war.”

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The people of Ukraine need our solidarity. But not just because they’re ‘like us’ | Kenan Malik

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The outpouring of sympathy and help for Ukrainian refugees has prompted debate about European attitudes to identity and ethnicity

In 1857, the English poet and Chartist leader Ernest Jones wrote a series of articles in the People’s Paper about the “Indian Mutiny” of that year. It was, he observed, no “mutiny” but a “national insurrection” that Britons should support as much as they had supported similar struggles in Europe. Britons were “on the side of Poland” when it “struggled for its freedom against Russia”. If Poland was “right”, Jones insisted, then “so is Hindostan”.

I was reminded of his argument as I read and listened to some of the commentary about Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion. The invasion is brutal and unacceptable, an assault on democracy and sovereignty. We should oppose it just as we should oppose the Saudi assault on Yemen. We should support the people of Ukraine just as we should the people of Syria.

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